Grass has grown on Sharon Atieno's grave, nine months after she was brutally murdered together with her six-month-old unborn child.
“I weep every time I see her grave. I can’t still believe she is not around,” says Sharon’s mother Melida Auma Otieno.
Sharon was murdered on September 4, last year, with her killers driving a sharp knife into her neck, womb and other parts of the body, leading to the killing her foetus.
Even though she was buried on October 19, in her grandfather’s home at Magare village in Homa Bay County, Sharon’s image is still fresh in the minds of her family members.
“Losing a child through normal death can make her go out of memory faster than when she is murdered. I have not accepted that Sharon is dead,” Melida said.
Sharon was said to be the breadwinner in the family.
According to Melida, her then 26-year-old daughter was focused, with a lot of business ideas. That, her mother says, would have propelled her to greater heights had she been alive.
She said Sharon had sources of income despite being a student. “People thought Sharon was just a student who was only waking up to spend a whole day in school... What they did not know is that she was actively involved in business, which put her ahead economically,” Melida said.
She says her daughter operated a boutique in Homa Bay town, which earned her some money, part of which she used to support her family.
But Melida described her daughter's death as a serious setback to the family.
The boutique business collapsed after Sharon’s death.
“She (Sharon) had employed somebody to operate the business, but the person took advantage of her death and disappeared with a lot of goods and money, culminating in collapse of the business,” she added.
Melida is finding it difficult to educate Sharon’s son and his two sisters.
She said after Sharon’s burial, a woman who claimed to be her daughter's close friend conned her of Sh43,000.
“The lady used to bring people into my home during the sorrowful moments in the name of Sharon’s friends. She later borrowed the money from me, promising to pay back after one week. I have learnt this was a con game because she no longer receives my calls, besides deserting her house in Homa Bay for an unknown place,” she added.
Today, Sharon should have been a fourth year student of Health Records course she was pursing.
Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his two aides – Casper Obiero and Michael Oyamo – have been charged with Sharon's murder.